To help facilitate both laparoscopic and robotic surgery for urologic, gynecologic and other general surgical procedures, a patient is often positioned on an operating room (“OR”) table with the head tilted down (generally referred to as the Trendelenburg position). There are many current stabilization options available today to help position a patient in such a position, but all options have shortcomings. For example, one such option is based on a reusable “bean bag” device. The device consists of an enclosed airtight vinyl pouch filled with beads. The patient is encased in the floppy bean bag, and then suction is applied to the bean bag to remove air, resulting in a very firm cocoon-like enclosure which is then taped to the surgical table. Such reusable devices carry an increased risk of patient infection since the patient's skin in direct contact with the reused vinyl surface. Moreover, any repositioning requires significant delay. In order to adjust one side of the bean bag air is released to the entire bean bag requiring effort to maintain the patient position.
Another reusable device includes a gel pad that is placed under the patient. Such devices face similar problems, such as increased risk of infection because the patient's skin is in direct contact with the pad and the device requires additional work/time, including the need to warm the gel pad prior to patient contact.
Yet another option is based on a foam egg crate positioned between the patient and the operating room table mattress, where the foam egg crate is taped to the operating table. If the foam is cut to generally the size of the bed, taping is relatively straightforward, however, this configuration does not adequately address positioning of the arms and hands. If a wide piece of foam were to be utilized, this would require 4-6 holes to be made in the foam to allow wide pieces of tape to run from the bed on one side, through a hole, across the foam to the other side, through the contralateral hole, and then to the OR table. Such a design requires additional time and effort.
Whether the gel pad, “bean bag” or the foam egg crate method are used, the arms of the patient are wrapped with separate pieces of foam and then tucked with additional and separate foam using a large sheet, such as a bed sheet. Often the hands extend beyond the base of the table and require separate wrapping to protect them during the surgical procedure. Additional foam is then placed across the chest and the upper torso is secured to the bed using wide tape or seatbelt-like straps, often including a hook and loop fastener, such as Velcro™. However, this set up often still results in patient slippage. Mattress pads typically include a hook and loop fastener on their back side to secure the pad to the OR table; use of a bed sheet as described interferes with that fastener and makes the mattress pad difficult to secure to the table.
Moreover, all of the above-mentioned devices also commonly use adhesive tape, typically of paper or silk. The roll of tape is multi-use and represents an infectious disease risk because the edges of the tape are sticky and the roll is maintained in the operating room (OR) between patients.
Hence, there is a need for an improved device that provides easier, faster and more secure patient positioning, improved infection control, improved protection of the patient's upper extremities during laparoscopic and robotic surgery, and less waste compared to current options.